The Last Time I Saw You
by bossy
Summary: One-shot. A random day in the life of Trafalgar Law as he reminisces about his childhood and the things that made him the rat bastard he is today.


**A/N:** One shot. I needed something to amuse myself so I decided to speculate and create a storyline that doesn't even have a hope of being there. But hopefully, you enjoy it too.

* * *

It was hot today. The sun was beating down on the ship from a cloudless sky, so that was no surprise. They'd been at sea for probably a good week without seeing any land and in attempt to not go stir crazy, he'd ordered them to surface.

When they'd opened the hatch and been greeted by unabashed sunshine, a lazy day on the deck had sounded like the perfect way to spend the day. They'd been basking in the sun for almost three hours now and none of them were sick of it yet.

Except one. He'd reluctantly come out on the deck just because the rest of them had emptied out onto it. He'd taken up his usual station next to his captain and there he'd stayed for the last three hours. But now, some of the others were beginning to detest the heat.

If he really wanted, he could just send the submarine down. Trafalgar Law was bored of being inside the ship, though.

Bepo was complaining of the heat the most. No surprise since the white bear was still in his yellow jump suit. Bepo preferred it where it was cool, and usually it was much more so several hundred feet below the ocean's glassy surface.

Law himself was lounging against the white bear in cargo shorts and a tee shirt, adding his own body heat to him, so that probably not helping. Realizing it, Law sat forward and took off his hat, tossing it to the side for show and not to hurt the bear's feelings. Bepo had the most sensitive feelings of anyone he'd ever met.

Ever since they were children, meeting by chance on the path between his home and his village. Polar Bear, he'd called himself, but at four years old, Law had gotten his name wrong so many times that the tiny bear had shortened it to Bepo for him. Maybe it was actually B. Po; it really didn't matter anymore. Law called Polar Bear Bepo, and eventually, Law ended up being called simply Captain by the end of that day.

That day. That was the most bittersweet day of his life.

Actually, more bitter than sweet probably. He lost his family that day, but gained the first member of his crew. Not that he'd had any idea that he'd ever become a pirate captain. Pirates were a bunch of rat bastards whose only purpose in life was to ruin the lives of everyone that they came within sight of.

So it was probably ironic that he was one of those rat bastards now.

His mother Ryna, his sister Tsu, and himself too probably if he hadn't chanced upon Bepo, were victims of a heartless pirate attack. But not his father. Oh, no, not his father. His father was one of the bastard pirates, too. Fuck his father. He had no father. Bastard.

The thought of the man wiped away his semi good mood away in a moment.

"Take her down," Law growled suddenly. "Hot as fuck out here."

The others spared him a quick look before clearing the top deck. Only Bepo paused at his words. He reached a giant paw out to pick up the discarded hat and hand it to him.

"All is well?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," Law grumbled. "Just hot. And the sun's in my eyes and it's bright."

Bepo wouldn't buy it. Law knew he wouldn't. Bepo knew him well enough now to be able to decipher between his moods. Law wasn't hot. He was angry. Irritated. Infuriated. But Bepo also knew when to leave well enough alone, and descended into the belly of the submarine without another word.

With one last look at the relatively beautiful day that didn't deserve his irritation, Law climbed down to the innards of the sub too. Knowing the others could easily take care of diving without him, he went to go stew in his room rather than take it out on them now that they were in closer quarters again.

As expected, his mood did not improve upon reaching his room and Law kicked his door shut with a boot harshly. He tossed his hat haphazardly at the wall but with a little more gentleness, put his nodachi on its stand. Law flopped down on his bed and sighed in disgust, staring at the ceiling.

There. The irritation started to ebb away a little bit at the sight of it. The last memento he had of his family. A torn group picture, taped to the ceiling.

His mother Ryna was as beautiful and unmarred as ever in the photo. Tall, blonde, bright blue-eyed and rosy cheeked. Tsu was held by her, only six months old but bore near the exact same appearance as Ryna, save for a few differences. The hair, the dark eyes, and the dimples were reminiscent of the man torn from the picture, but enough of Ryna remained in his sister that Law could look at her with nothing but affection.

He was the last figure in the picture, clutching to his mother's leg shyly and trying to hide his face. The little green frog given to him by his mother clutched in one hand. At those times, he hadn't found his inclination to become a doctor. In fact, his only inclination was to spend his days and nights with his mother and sister and only endure the presence of the bastard when he graced them with his presence.

Fucking rat bastard. Go to fucking hell!

If only he could have said those words then. But, for the sake of his beautiful mother, Law had held his tongue. To see her smile, he'd kept silent and obeyed every single word she'd said to the letter.

"Such a good boy you are, Shinji," she'd praise. That had been his name then. Shinji. A few years after their deaths, when he'd made his decision to become a pirate and sail to the Grand Line, he'd changed his name to Trafalgar Law. No one called him Shinji anymore. Not even Bepo.

Of course, Bepo simply called him Captain all the time since then. Something that they'd started just after they'd first met. Four years old and full of piss and vinegar, naturally inclined to be displeased at everything the world, Law'd still managed to make a friend out of Bepo. Especially on that day.

That day…

"Son of a bitch," he muttered, punching the metal wall nearest to him. All it served to do was put a reverberating ache into his wrist and forearm. Disgusted, he flexed the knuckles and gave a cursory glance at them. The skin flushed red down to his tattoos.

DEATH

So plain a tattoo. So much meaning behind so simple a tattoo.

Damn Everything Among This Hell

That is what Trafalgar Law planned to do with this shitty world. Make everyone as miserable and BLANK as himself. Well, most everyone. There were a few people out there who didn't deserve his rage. In another point of irony, most of them were pirates.

Pirates of the new age only. The old bastards, the Yonko and the other Shichibukai, they could go straight to hell and rot like a maggot infested wound. Especially that son of a bitch Shinto.

No. He wouldn't think of him. He'd dwell on happier memories. Those of his mother and sister, and the life he'd shared with them. It had been so much easier then.

The smell of eggs and bacon in the morning. Fresh cut grass and salty sea air would combine on the wind to give the atmosphere a sense of natural pleasantness. Overall, a relaxing and happy place to grow up.

"Mama," he'd call every morning when he woke. "Mama, are you there?"

"Of course, Shinji," she'd reply as she entered the room. She'd kiss him good morning and together they'd be there to greet Tsu when she woke up too. The two of them would accompany their mother to the restaurant where she worked and he'd spend his day entertaining his sister.

Good days. So easily taken for granted.

The only days that had left a poor taste in his mouth were the ones where his father was present. No, not his father. Shinto. The shitwad whom he was named after. The turd would waltz in after two or three months at sea and act like he still owned the joint. Bastard.

Damn it. Law couldn't help but think of that asshole whenever he thought about his family. And that last day as well. Giving in, Law closed his eyes and thought back to that last morning.

.o0o.

"Mama!" Shinji cried. "Mama, are you there?"

"Yes, honey," she called from just outside his room. A moment later, she stepped through the doorway. "Here I am."

Tsu was already up and carried in by her. As his mother leaned down to kiss him good morning, Tsu reached out and grabbed hold of his hair. A line of drool dripped from Tsu's mouth onto his forehead and they both laughed.

"Tsu! Oh, dear, sorry Shinji," his mother said, wiping away the drool. "Come now. Get dressed and we'll head down to the restaurant."

The restaurant was near the docks, like most businesses in town, where it had the chance to attract the most customers. Shinji's mother had been taking him there with her as long as he could remember, and that had altered little since the addition of Tsu. At three and a half years old, he was probably a little small to be carrying around his sister by himself, but by four he had mastered it. Besides, he had always considered it his job as a big brother to take care of her when their mother was busy.

"Do you want to watch me color today?" Shinji asked Tsu, who was blowing spit bubbles. The two of them took up their regular station in the kitchen at the chef's private table. A few pieces of paper, crayons, and a deck of children's playing cards marked the area as theirs.

Precariously, Shinji lifted Tsu onto the table and then climbed into a chair so he could see her. Tsu had been lying on her back but as he watched, she wiggled and waggled until her tiny body finally rolled over on the table to face him. At the accomplishment, Tsu squealed.

"Mama! Tsu rolled over!" Shinji cried out, proud of her. Ryna looked around the corner and smiled at the two of them.

"I think her big brother spending last night showing her how had a little to do with it," she said with a wink at him. "Such a good big brother."

Shinji smiled as wide as his face would allow.

"Sissy, I'm gonna teach you how to crawl now," he pledged. The rest of the morning was spent with the two of them on the floor and Shinji demonstrating how to crawl. He only managed to accomplish making his sister giggle over and over.

Lunch was the usual sandwich and juice for himself while Ryna fed Tsu, followed immediately by a nap. Shinji insisted that he was too old for a nap, but he fell asleep nonetheless not long after Tsu nodded off. Mid afternoon is when he woke up again. It was odd, though. There was no one in the kitchen at all. When he got up and walked to the door to the restaurant seating area, it was deserted as well.

Starting to panic, Shinji returned to the storage closet that had a small cot he'd shared with his sister to nap. Tsu was still asleep but woke up when he picked her up. She cried a little bit at the rude awakening, but as Shinji began carrying her around with him, she quieted down.

Peeking out the front door of the restaurant, he was even more distraught again see no one. Nothing. It was absolutely desolate. Unsure of what to do, Shinji began walking toward home.

"Mama?" he called as he slowly walked home. "Mama, where did you go?"

No one answered. It was starting to become too much for him. His bottom lip quivered and tears threatened to pour down from his eyes. Tsu sensed his immanent tears and began wailing loudly.

The bushes beside the trail that led to his house began to shudder. Not knowing whether he should retreat or cry for help, Shinji stood still in fright at the sight. Two beady eyes stared at the two of them from between leaves.

"Mama!" Shinji screamed in fear.

"Aaah!" cried a tiny voice from the bushes.

Surprised at the voice, both Shinji and Tsu stopped crying in utter astonishment as a pint-sized, white teddy bear burst out of the edge of the bushes and ran a few feet away. The little bear stopped next to a tree and hid behind it, peering out cautiously at them. The sight of the bear peeking out at them made Tsu giggle loudly in amusement.

The bear peeked a little further out from behind the tree.

"Hi," he said shyly.

"Hi," Shinji answered. Tsu was thrilled at the little bear and reached out clutching fingers at him.

"I'm Polar Bear," he said, coming out completely from behind the tree.

"My name is Shinji," he responded. "This is my sister Tsu. Where did you come from, Polo Bur?"

"Polar Bear," he corrected. "I came from the ship."

"What ship?" Shinji asked.

The white bear pointed towards the docks. "The one down there. The Goza Pirates brought me here."

Shinji looked down toward the docks even though he knew he wouldn't be able to see them from where he was. "Goza Pirates?"

"Uh-huh," the little bear nodded. "They're meanies, so I ran away when they weren't looking. But it's hot here. I was hiding in the bushes to keep cool."

Shinji forgot the mysterious disappearance of his mother and the rest of the village. Thinking that his home was much cooler than the path where they stood, Shinji invited the little bear home with him. Almost overwhelmed with delight, the little bear had a hard time staying with him in his excitement as the three of them travelled in pleasant moods to the little cottage where Shinji had been born.

"My mama isn't home right now, but she will be for in a while," Shinji told them, also trying to reassure himself. "She'll come home and make us dinner."

They spent the afternoon playing with each other and keeping Tsu entertained. Polar Bear even spent an hour walking on all fours in attempt to teach her to crawl as well. She was simply as entertained by him as she had been before by her brother.

But evening came and Ryna did not return. Fear set in again that Shinji had managed to banish through the afternoon. Soon, Tsu began crying in hunger and Shinji was at a loss of what to do, and so began to cry too. The little polar bear looked between the two and soon joined in the wailing. The three of them stood in the middle of the cottage kitchen crying when the door burst in.

"You little shit!" cried a tall man with a scrubby appearance.

"Ahhh!" cried the little bear, running around the room in fear. "No! I don't want to go back!"

Shinji put Tsu down in the corner he'd retreated to and picked up a rolling pin instead. When the man who'd burst in came by him in his pursuit of the bear, Shinji swung the pin hard into the man's knee. He crumpled to the floor yowling in pain and the bear, who had picked up a frying pan, smashed him in the head. Finally, the man lay unconscious on the ground.

"Good job, Poro Beer," said Shinji.

"Polar Bear," he corrected. "Just call me Bepo. It's easier."

Shinji picked up his sister and the three of them ran out of the house to see an orange glow emanating from the direction of the village. Drawn to it, they reached the precipice of the hill that went down to it and saw the entire village on fire. Swarms of tiny figures that looked like ants from a distance ran back and forth: some in white and some in dark colors.

"My mama must be down there!" Shinji cried, taking off for the village below him.

"Wait!" Bepo cried. "It's dangerous!"

Regardless of that statement, Bepo actually follow Shinji down the hill toward the village. The white ants became more distinct looking as Marines, running about with guns firing off occasionally. The dark ants turned out to be more of the pirates that Bepo had escaped from. The little bear barely managed to hold Shinji at bay from running into the dangerous foray.

"Don't go in there!" Bepo whispered into his ear. "There's no one from the village there. I promise!"

It took a moment to realize it, but looking around, Shinji saw that what he said was true.

"Where are they?" he asked desperately. "Where's my mama?"

"If they have her, she's probably at the dock," Bepo said. "If not, I don't know. Where would they go if there was danger?"

Shinji tried to remember when there had been danger before. A scary, loud storm had come not long after Tsu was born and his mama had taken him to some caves in the hills on the other side of the village.

"Over there," Shinji pointed. "Those hills, I think."

Through the bushes to evade the sight of all those who fought is where Bepo and Shinji snuck through to the other side of the village. It was mostly smoldering shambles and devoid of any fighting. They climbed up the hill while Tsu cried, unable to be consoled anymore by the presence of her brother or the cute little white bear.

"Mama?" Shinji called, finally within sight of the caves. "Mama! Where are you?"

Toth, the owner of the restaurant where Ryna worked ran out to meet him. "Shinji! And Tsu! Oh, thank goodness!"

"Where's my mama?" Shinji repeated.

"The pirates have her," Toth revealed. "But the Marines will rescue her and the others. We need to go down there too so they can take us to safety."

But Shinji was not about to leave his mother's fate in the hands of some shitty Marines, who'd never been to their island before, let alone helped them in any way. He turned to Bepo with a determined look.

"Bepo, take Tsu," Shinji instructed, handing him the infant. "Keep her safe. I'm gonna go get my mama."

"Aye aye, Captain," Bepo pledged, startling Toth when he spoke. The restaurateur was so shocked to see a tiny white bear speak that he was unprepared to stop Shinji from running back down the hill towards the village.

Shinji ran so quickly that he stumbled and rolled down the hill a ways. When he recovered, he began running again, not stopping until he shuffled into the hot ashes that used to be his village. The docks, he recalled. Bepo had said the pirates would take them down to the docks.

Setting off in that direction, Shinji saw several ships almost immediately. From the sails, he could tell three of the five ships there belonged to the Marines. Another held a jolly roger that he'd never seen before and presumed to be the Goza Pirates. The final flag Shinji knew very well.

The three lines across a skull marked the final ship to belong to the pirates of the Red Haired Shanks.

So. His bastard of a father had come back. Ironically just in time to see the village of his 'beloved' wife burned to the ground. Sneering in hatred, Shinji ran toward the ship of the Goza pirates.

"Shinji! What in hell are you doing?"

Damn it! The bastard had spotted him. He ran harder in effort to escape him but in his flight ran head long into a tall, hard body. He bounced backward into the ground, shooting up a look of disdain at his road block. A tall, dark body in a large hat with a cross at his back stood in front of him.

"Mihawk! Get the kid outta here!" Shinji's father shouted. "I'm going after Ryna!"

Dracule Mihawk did not look pleased at the charge given to him. "You take him. He is your son."

"Damn it, Mihawk! There's no time!" Shinji's father snapped. "Don't argue about this with me now! Regardless of anything else, he is Ryna's son! Save him!"

Mihawk sneered and grabbed the angered boy, tossing him over his shoulder. He walked with unperturbed steadiness towards the edge of the village. Suddenly, a tiny white bear burst from the bushes and attached itself to his leg, growling and biting.

"Off, troublesome beast," Mihawk spat.

"Put him down!" Bepo cried, still biting. "Leave him alone!"

With his free hand, Mihawk picked Bepo up by the scruff and pulled him to eye level.

"Stout heart," he appraised. "But you will do no good here. You must hide from this despair until it has cleared."

That said, Mihawk put the two of them down and pointed back toward the caves.

"Go," he ordered, then turned on his heel and walked back to the enraged battle.

Shinji looked Bepo over in agitation. "Where's Tsu?"

Bepo pointed to a still partially standing building that though still smoking, was no longer burning. "No one will look for her there."

Satisfied with that, Shinji looked back at the Goza ship. "I have to get to mama."

It was Bepo's turn to look agitated. "You don't want to go there. It's bad."

Disregarding the advice, Shinji ran towards the ship again. He got all the way onto the dock before Bepo tackled him.

"Don't go that way!" he cried. "I'll take you a secret way. Just please, don't go that way."

Shinji agreed, and the two of them went around the side to the cannon holes. They climbed into the bowels of the ship to see several cells crammed full of people. Grabbing keys off a peg in the support beam for the main mast, Shinji unlocked the first door he came to. People flooded out and someone took the keys from him, unlocking the rest of the cells at a faster speed.

"Shinji!" his mother cried when she spotted him. The second she was out of the cell she picked him up and hugged him as close to her as she could. "Baby what do you think you're doing?"

He was too busy hugging her and kissing her to answer.

"Ryna!"

Damn it! That bastard was back and ruining this moment.

"Shinto!" Ryna cried, using one arm to pull him into the embrace as well. "Oh, thank the heavens!"

"Where's Tsu?" he asked. "Where's my baby girl?"

Ryna had no answer and looked to Shinji. He pointed at Bepo.

"We hid her," Shinji said. Now liberated, the freed villagers spilled out of the ship like ale from a broken barrel. Bepo, unhappy to have the spotlight on him, cried in fear at the large humans that demanded to know where he'd left Tsu. Shinji led them back to the side of the village where Mihawk had left them.

"She's in there," he pointed at the dilapidated structure. Ryna ran forth but Shinto was quicker and disappeared into the shamble only to reappear empty handed.

"Where is she?" he demanded, running back to Shinji. He grabbed the boy's arm and shook it violently. "Where's my baby?"

Shinji looked at Bepo in confusion. The little bear, shaking in his emotional tumult, sobbed as he answered.

"I left her there," he cried. "I swear."

A hard back hand hit Shinji's cheek and he wailed.

"Where is my daughter, Shinji?" Shinto demanded. "How could you just leave her? She's a baby! Where is she?"

Shinji cried harder and tried to escape his grasp and run to his mother, but she wasn't paying attention to him. She was searching under every smoldering board for Tsu, calling out for her lost child. Realizing he would not get the answer he wanted from Shinji, his father tossed the boy to the ground and went in search with Ryna. Not knowing what else to do, Shinji followed them.

"Tsu!" they cried. "Tsu! Cry for us!"

But nothing was heard from the child. Soon, they reached the still burning part of the village, and hazardously, Ryna ran into the flaming structures in search of her child.

"Tsu!" she screamed, near hysteria. Shinto tried to calm his wife, but she rushed into the next burning building without delay. A moment later, it collapsed on her.

"Mama!" Shinji screamed, running headlong towards the raging flames. He didn't know who stopped him, but someone knocked him to the ground and held him there while he listened to his mother burn to death.

.o0o.

Most of the time, when anyone looked at him, Trafalgar Law was smiling. The reason was because a smile on a person's face unconsciously put those around him at ease, making it much simpler to take advantage of them when the time came.

But at this moment, Trafalgar Law was not smiling.

A grim line was what passed for his lips as he bit down on them with his teeth from the inside. One hand covered his eyes, shaking slightly at in agitation of the passing memory. He could still hear the screams of his mother burning to death…

They'd never found his sister. She was lost to him in a similar way that Ryna was gone. He'd never see her again, but also would never know what happened to her. That, in a way, was worse than his mother's screams.

How had she died? Had she starved to death? Been eaten by a wild animal? Been found and burned by one of those cursed Goza pirates? What if they had tortured her? She'd only been a tiny baby, not even knowing how to crawl.

His fingers were wet. He knew why. Holding his eyelids down with his hand wouldn't stop some tears from escaping. It was simply inevitable. But likewise, when the pain and anger had spent itself, Law could go on with his plan to send this shitty world to hell.

What better way to do it than to claim One Piece and become Pirate King?

A knock sounded at his door. He knew it was Bepo. The others just shouted through the door.

"What is it?" he called, checking his emotions. Bepo opened the door and looked at him.

"We've detected a ship above us, Captain," Bepo answered. "Based on its size and comparative weight, we believe it is the Mugiwara Pirates."

Law let out a large breath. "And?"

"And our liquor is low," Bepo went on, a smile in his voice. "But the Mugiwara's usually have more than enough to go around."

Law finally cracked a smile. "You're insinuating we should confiscate it?"

"They'd probably invite us to drink if we tried," Bepo surmised. "Either way…"

Law finally sat up. "Tell the men to take her up."

Bepo went to do as instructed while Law picked his hat up off the floor where it'd fell. He brushed the fur back and forth to dispel the dust that had collected on it before putting it on and grabbed his nodachi on the way out. By the time he reached the ladder to the upper deck, he could tell that they'd broken the surface due to the sound of waves breaking against the hull. When he popped open the hatch and looked to port, he spotted the Going Sunny.

"Oh, great. Just what we need."

The annoyed female's voice reached Law's ears before he saw her. He spotted Nami leaning over the side railing with her cheek resting against one hand.

"Here to collect us and hand us over to the World Government?" she guessed lazily as he climbed out onto the deck of his ship. "Or is this a social call?"

Ah, sarcasm. One of the few pleasures Law had left in the world. The Cat Burglar seemed to share in his appreciation of it.

"Beer run," Law answered. Nami snorted.

"And how do you plan on paying for the beer you drink?" she inquired. Others gathered at the rail next to her, called by their conversation.

"Put it on his tab," Law answered, pointing at Luffy. The rival Captain swung himself down onto Law's ship, causing it to jar with the impact.

"He doesn't have a tab!" Nami snapped, glaring at Luffy. He ignored her and promptly invited Law and his crew to join in the night's festivities as Nami fumed uselessly. "The turd owes me so much money that I've actually stopped counting. He'll never pay it back in this lifetime."

Regardless of the navigator's complaints, the two crews spent the evening in each other's company enjoying good food and later, bountiful drink. It was well into the evening when the navigator sat down next to him and gave him a hard look.

"Two hundred thousand, seven hundred fifty Belis," she said, handing him a written tab. Law glanced at it and refilled his beer.

"Two hundred thousand, eight hundred Belis," she adjusted. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"This beer is not worth fifty Belis," he decided. "More like five."

"Five," she agreed. "With a thousand percent interest."

Beer threatened to shoot out his nose. "Loan shark."

"Don't ask her for money," Zoro warned, hearing the last comment. "I'll never pay off my swords, and one of them broke two years ago. But she's still charging me for it."

"I give you discounts," Nami reminded him. She turned back to Law. "I'll make you a deal. If you can out drink me, I'll waive your tab."

"No!" cried three Mugiwara's at once. Ussop reached them first, with Franky and Chopper not far behind.

"Don't do it!" he warned. "She _never_ gets drunk."

Nami clogged him in the head and kicked him in the butt back to the cluster of idiots where he'd previously been. Too late, though, as Law shook his head in flat denial.

Annoyed, Nami plopped her cheek on one fist. "You are as much of a freeloader as the Marines."

That, he could not be so content to take in stride.

"I do not resemble the Marines in any way, shape, or form," he denied a little harshly. He knocked over his beer at her, too. "So watch your mouth."

She had her arms raised to keep them out of the travelling beer flow and stood to keep it from spilling onto her skirt.

"Would you like me to keep counting?" she spat. "Five hundred for the skirt? Five thousand for a new table? A million because you're a feel-sorry-for-yourself-son-of-a-bitch?"

Law stood now too.

"Son of a bitch?" he repeated, with an elevated tone. "Don't you ever _presume_ to think you know anything about my mother."

She was a little taken aback at this violent proclamation, but it was not in her nature to back down.

"She should have taught you better manners," she hazarded. Law jumped over the table and advanced on her very quickly. She backed up a little but raised a hand as if to deck him. He caught her wrist before she could do anything, though.

"Say just one more thing," Law goaded. Before he could do anything else, rubber hands separated him from the Mugiwara navigator. The formerly overly inebriated rubberman was now completely sober and looking very cautious. After assessing Law for a moment, he turned to Nami.

"It's all on my tab," he told her. "Let it be."

Nami was hardly contented to back down, but Luffy had done his job at redirecting her rage. She clogged him in the head instead.

"You shitty turd! You have no tab! You owe too damn much!" she cried. "Go back to drinking your damn beer! Ass!"

She stalked away, angry and cursing. Situation defused, Luffy went back to being an idiot, much to Law's amazement and somewhat incredulity. Unfortunately, though, the beer had been moved to one spot on the deck and it was now being fiercely guarded by Sanji.

"Apologies are needed before anymore beer will be allowed," he barked, kicking away a couple seekers. "No one treats a lady that way."

Law was ready to go back to his ship anyway, but Bepo, the overly sensitive and kind bear he was, had offered to go apologize to Nami on his Captain's behalf in order to rectify the damage. Sanji was about to accept the proposal, but Law wouldn't have his first mate suffer that indignity on his behalf.

"I'll go," Law conceded with annoyance. He got up from his seat and went in the direction he'd last seen the navigator. She had disappeared through one of the doors that lined the grassy deck and when Law stepped through it, he saw only two places she could have gone.

The first door was too what looked like the library. It had a cluttered desk full of cartography equipment on it, but the navigator was nowhere to be seen. Checking the second door, he saw that stairs led down to what had to be the women's quarters. He clopped down the steps loudly to announce his presence, but when he looked around the room, she wasn't there either.

"What a pain," he grumbled, turning to leave. He caught sight of a set of vanities underneath the stairs that he hadn't seen before, and on it, some of the personal effects of the ladies.

A picture.

It was old and highly prized by where it sat in the middle of the counter in plain sight. A woman with a tamed red Mohawk sat on the stump of a tree. At her knee stood a little girl with lavender hair that couldn't have been more than two years old. In the woman's arms, a tiny child with pink eyes and a shock of orange hair smiled toothlessly at him.

"She looks like Tsu," he murmured, picking up the picture for a closer look.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Very few things ever startled Law, but Nami's shrill voice busting through the quiet from behind him was one that made him jump. He set down the picture back on the vanity and turned around quickly.

"Nothing," he answered, but even to his own ears, he sounded like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "What are you doing?"

Nami made an impatient sweeping gesture with her arm. "I live here."

"Right," Law agreed, a little sheepishly. He was sure that he was completely ruining his entire image of being a bad ass pirate Shichibukai in front of her right now.

"What do you want, Law?" she demanded.

He sighed to clear his mind and focus on his original task, but really, he just wanted to look at the picture again. Giving in, he turned around and picked it up, facing it towards her. "This your family?"

"Yeah," she answered suspiciously. "What of it?"

"Nothing," he repeated. "I had a sister too, but mine was younger than me. She looked like you did, though."

Nami yanked the picture out of his hands. "Get out of my room."

"Fine," Law snapped back. "Fuck. And to think I came down here to apologize. What a fucking waste of my time."

Nami sidestepped out of his way. "You? Apologize? I wouldn't believe it if I heard it."

"Did your mother teach you manners?" Law griped, throwing back her own comment in her face. "Because it sure as hell don't seem like it. You're a raging bitch."

"Fuck you!" she yelled. "My mother was the best! _The best!_ You'll never understand! Get out of my room! Get off this ship! Bastard!"

He was already half way down the hall back to the deck before her yells died down. Law waved his arm at his crewmates and gestured for them to head back to their submarine.

"Always a pleasure," he snidely commented to the rest of the Mugiwara's before jumping down to the deck of his sub and skulking down to his room. Damn that girl for ruining his buzz and his prospects for a good night. A knock sounded at his door.

"Course heading, Captain?" Bepo asked.

"Take us about a hundred leagues out and shoot a torpedo at them," Law instructed. "Then dive."

Bepo gave him a somewhat incredulous look.

"What?" Law shrugged. "We gotta do something about them. We'd get booted straight outta the Shichibukai if we came into contact with the Mugiwara Pirates and didn't do anything."

Bepo sighed at his logic but went away to convey the order all the same. Law kicked off his boots and lay back on his bed, staring at the picture on the ceiling again. His mother and sister were forever happy in it, and he was forever shy.

"Captain?"

Bepo's quiet voice interrupted his reverie.

"What's up?" Law asked.

"How did you ever manage to forgive me?" he asked, stepping into the room. "For losing Tsu?"

"You didn't lose her," Law answered, sitting up and looking at the polar bear. "You put her in a place you thought she'd be safe. She couldn't even crawl yet, so where would she go? How were you supposed to know that she wouldn't be there when we came back?"

"But if I'd stayed with her—"

"Enough of that crap," Law cut him off. "There's nothing to forgive. You're my oldest friend and nakama, and even if I lost my family that day, I still got you. It's not a fair trade, but it's good enough."

"You still don't consider Sh—" he began.

"No," Law interrupted again. "He's just another rat bastard. I don't care if he is alive, he'll never be my father. He's nothing to me."

Silence hung between them for a few moments.

"Why did you want to apologize to that crazy bitch for me?" Law asked suddenly. "She could have stewed in her own anger for the night and it wouldn't have made a difference."

Bepo looked at him, a little bewildered.

"You…don't know?" he asked. It was Law's turn to be bewildered.

"Know what?" Law repeated. "What about her?"

Bepo looked briefly up at the picture on the ceiling, then back at him.

"Nothing," he said, turning to leave. "I am going to turn in for the night."

Law let him go, but couldn't help but wonder at Bepo's sudden interest in the picture. He looked at it again. There was still a noticeable resemblance between Nami's childhood picture and that of Tsu, but other than that…

Law moved his eyes to his mother. Forever an angel in his eyes. How in the world she had ever fallen for that bastard who'd sired him was unfathomable. Regardless, in the picture she was young and smiling and full of life.

It suddenly struck him.

If he imagined his mother with orange hair instead of blonde…

"Holy shit!"


End file.
